http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
BILINGUAL EDUCATION has been on the ropes for the last few years, but
Education Secretary Richard Riley hopes to revive the embattled program by
creating a thousand new programs around the country that will teach Spanish
to English-speakers as well as teaching English to Spanish-speakers. This
approach, called dual-immersion, has been around for decades, but only
recently has become a favorite among bilingual-education enthusiasts looking
for a way to save bilingual education from an onslaught of reforms that
threaten to eliminate the program altogether.

In 1998, California voters overwhelmingly passed a Constitutional amendment
effectively ending state-mandated bilingual-education programs in favor of
English-immersion programs for limited-English-proficient children. Similar
measures may be on the ballot this year in Arizona and Colorado if
proponents can gather enough signatures, and some state legislatures are
considering modifications to bilingual programs as well. So, what's wrong
with Secretary Riley's call to "treat language skills as the assets they
are" by creating two-way bilingual programs for non-Hispanics and Hispanics
alike?

Absolutely nothing, so long as the goal is to teach Spanish to students who
already know English. Indeed, dual-immersion schools are an excellent way to
teach any foreign language. Montgomery County, Md., had an excellent French
immersion school for many years, and parents vigorously vied to get their
children admitted into the prestigious magnet program.

The best immersion schools usually devote 70 to 90 percent of their
instructional time to the foreign language to be learned, at least in the
beginning, which is a great way for students who already know English to
learn a second language. But what about non-English-speaking children?
Should they spend 90 percent of their time learning in Spanish, or even half
their time, as many dual-immersion programs recommend?

Proponents of dual-immersion programs claim they work as well or better
than traditional bilingual or all-English versions, such as
English-as-a-second-language or structured-English-immersion programs. But a
close look at the evidence suggests that the kids who benefit most are the
ones in least need of help.

Professor Christine Rossell of Boston University, who has studied programs
aimed at limited-English-proficient kids for nearly two decades, notes in a
recent analysis of dual-immersion programs: "Hispanic students in
well-regarded, two-way bilingual programs in real school districts score
only about half as well as white students" in those programs. At River Glen
Elementary, a two-way bilingual school in San Jose, Calif., often touted as
a model program, Hispanic students scored about half as well on reading
tests. And in many dual-language schools, about one-third of the
Spanish-speaking students failed to learn enough English to be tested at
all. When these schools report impressive gains for dual-immersion students,
it's because they've left non-English speakers out of the equation.

Bilingual-education advocates have jumped on the dual-immersion bandwagon
because they hope to expand their constituency to middle-class Anglo parents
who want their children to learn a second language. It's a smart political
tactic, especially since support for Spanish-language programs seems to be
declining among immigrant parents who want their children to learn English
more quickly. A poll last year by the non-profit organization Public Agenda
showed that 75 percent of immigrant parents want their children taught in
English. A similar poll taken by my organization, the Center for Equal
Opportunity, found only 17 percent of Hispanic parents want their children
to be taught to read and write first in Spanish.

Ironically, some of the strongest support for bilingual education comes
from middle-class Hispanics, many of whom don't speak Spanish, and regret
their children don't either. It's these Hispanics who are a natural
constituency for dual-immersion classes, and could actually benefit from
them, just as non-Hispanics might.

But no one should be fooled into thinking dual-immersion programs are the
answer to helping the huge influx of mainly immigrant Spanish-speakers into
public schools in the Southwest and elsewhere. The 3 million students who
already speak Spanish as their primary language will become bilingual only
by learning English. And the best way to do that is through intensive
English instruction by teachers well-trained in teaching a second language.

If Secretary Riley is serious about helping these children, he should create
several thousand new model English-immersion programs around the country,
not just a few new dual-immersion programs to help students learn or improve
their
Spanish.